One of the best reasons to visit The Ex this year might not be the rides. It may be the food. Sure, the mini donuts, corn dogs and giant turkey legs are all back. But if you’re looking for weird stuff, The Ex has you covered. How weird? How about Spam fries, Spam sliders and sriracha Spam bites from a booth called Anything Spam? If that’s not your thing, maybe blue pizza is. Yes, blue pizza. Even The Ex’s CEO Garth Rogerson admits he’s not entirely sure what’s going on there. Pickles continue to have their moment too. There’s pickle pizza, dill pickle poutine and even deep-fried pickle Oreos. I honestly don’t know whether to be intrigued or concerned. There’s also a cheesy Hot Cheetos corn dog, dirty sodas, Dubai chocolate strawberries, maple bacon poutine and a chicken tender on a stick that appears to be covered in cornflakes. The Ex actively searches across North America for unusual food vendors. The goal is to bring in eats you probably won’t find anywhere else in Manitoba. For me, that’s a big part of the fun. The rides may get most of the attention, but the food has become a destination of its own. Just remember: maybe don’t eat the Spam fries, pickle poutine and blue pizza all on the same day.

Winnipeg Transit has a ridership problem, and it’s starting to show up on the bottom line. The city’s latest first quarter numbers show ridership continuing to slide, pushing Transit’s projected budget shortfall from $11.1 million to $18.4 million. Finance committee chair Jeff Browaty says there’s no single reason for the decline. Safety concerns continue to be a factor. Some riders who have other transportation options are choosing not to take the bus. Changes to federal immigration policies have also reduced the number of international students and temporary foreign workers, groups that have traditionally been heavy transit users. Then there’s the new transit network itself. I continue to hear so many complaints about the changes, and we're almost a year into them. Too many trips are less convenient, and a lot of riders have given up. Former Functional Transit Winnipeg board member Brian Pincott agrees with Browaty that there’s no silver bullet. He argues the city hasn’t done enough to show people how to use the new network. If riders find the system confusing, many will simply drive or grab a rideshare instead. Fare evasion also remains an issue, but both Browaty and Pincott point to another problem: paying for transit can still be frustrating. Outdated fare technology and unreliable card readers make it harder than it should be for people who actually want to pay. The challenge now isn’t just Transit’s growing deficit. It’s convincing Winnipeggers to get back on the bus.

Also on Hal’s Kitchen at noon today on 680 CJOB… -The Ex is underway with all-new weird foods. -Gordon Bell High School’s Kitchen Brigade is off to Paris. -Bee Boyzz, a local company that creates honey, mead & other bee products.

I realize I usually know a guy. Hell, I’ve even got a radio show called Hal Knows A Guy. But I don’t have a shoe repair guy. Who’s the best in Winnipeg? Please and thanks…

Content creator Carter Chen has found a delicious way to keep Winnipeg history alive. His popular dim sum walking tours through Chinatown are back again this summer, giving Winnipeggers a chance to eat well while learning about one of the city's most fascinating neighbourhoods. Working with Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, Chen takes groups of 20 people on a stroll through 120 years of Chinatown history. And trust me, this isn't one of those tours where you're wondering when lunch starts. Lunch is the tour. Chen takes participants to Sam Po and Dim Sum Garden, handling all the ordering himself. His advice before every tour is simple: skip breakfast. But the food is only part of it. Along the way, Chen shares stories from the area's colourful past, dating back to the Charlie Chaplin era when Chinatown was bustling with restaurants, parties, and, yes, the occasional underground gambling operation. What makes the tour especially appealing is that Chen doesn't just explain the food. He teaches the customs and traditions behind dim sum, helping newcomers feel comfortable ordering and enjoying the experience on their own. As someone who samples dim sum across North America, Chen says Winnipeg's offerings stack up with the best. Considering many cities don't even have a single dim sum restaurant, that's something worth celebrating. A little history, a lot of food, and a deeper appreciation for Chinatown. Sounds like a pretty good day out to me.

I hope you tune in as I talk to a couple of my favourite people about two things I’m passionate about, gardening and birds. And keep sharing with me the people in your lives who are really good at what they do. Hal Knows A Guy airs at noon today on 680 CJOB.

Yes, it was sunny & hot today with a peak humidex of 35. But I’m having soup for dinner. And not just any soup. This is Chef Louie’s amazing Shrimp & Pork Wonton Soup from Aroma Bistro. I could bathe in this broth! It’s so frickin’ good!!

Winnipeg’s paramedic shortage has become a public health emergency. Paramedics are stretched thin, racing between downtown overdoses and other medical emergencies. Ryan Woiden, head of the paramedics’ union, says there were recently six overdoses happening simultaneously at the same intersection, Main and Logan. While crews worked to save lives, one victim started using again. It’s a brutal example of just how bad the situation has gotten. It’s not just overdoses. An elderly woman with a broken hip waited hours for an ambulance recently. A delay like that could be the difference between recovery and serious complications…or worse. At the city’s request, the province is now investing $1 million in a three-month pilot program to dedicate paramedic teams to overdoses. On paper, that sounds like action. In reality, it’s little more than a Band-Aid on a wound that keeps getting deeper. The program comes with no new hires. Instead, it relies on existing paramedics working overtime, something they’re already not doing. “Paramedics know what they’re up against and they’re just staying home,” Woiden says. This is unsustainable. Without more new paramedics, the city is essentially asking an already exhausted workforce to do more with less, while vulnerable residents face life-or-death delays in care. Winnipeg can’t solve a shortage of paramedics by asking the paramedics it already has to work even harder. The city needs more boots on the ground, more training capacity and a serious recruitment strategy. Lives depend on it.

Enjoy this weekend’s recipe and please listen to Hal’s Kitchen at noon today on 680 CJOB.

The new radio ratings are out and once again you have chosen to make CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg with yours truly the top rated show in its time slot. THANK YOU!!! The rest of this post is from the competitive part of me 😉 The ratings for the programming on that other news/talk station are down. I now have 50% more listeners.

I’ve spent enough years eating Kraft Dinner to know two things: first, it’s survived generations because people genuinely love it. And second, fans will try just about anything if you sprinkle a little KD nostalgia on top. That brings us to KD Mac and Cheesecake, the latest collaboration from Kraft Dinner and a handful of bakeries across Canada, including Winnipeg’s own Goodies Bake Shop at 1124 Ellice Avenue. At first I was skeptical but then Matt Bruce from KD started describing it, and suddenly this crazy idea became weirdly logical. According to Matt, the goal wasn’t to create some gimmicky social-media stunt where people take one bite for TikTok and immediately regret it. The idea was to make a real cheesecake first, rich, creamy, smooth, and genuinely good, with the familiar Kraft Dinner cheese flavour adding a subtle savoury edge. That’s the key here. This isn’t macaroni noodles jammed into a dessert. It’s cheesecake with a hint of that unmistakable KD taste that so many of us grew up with. Matt described it as nostalgic comfort food in dessert form, and honestly, that’s probably the best way to describe it. You can buy it by the slice or grab a full cake if you’re feeling adventurous enough to bring one to a family gathering and watch the reactions unfold in real time. Early in my radio career, Mac & Cheese was survival food when payday still felt a month away. So maybe that’s why this cheesecake idea works better than it should. It taps into something familiar. I still can’t believe I’m writing seriously about Kraft Dinner cheesecake, but here we are. And honestly? I kind of want a second slice.

I really hope you tune in today because Jeffrey will talk about his dream to get trains going again to Winnipeg Beach. And then Chris and I will discuss a few of my favourite weird topics including Manitoba’s legendary lake monsters.

Some ideas just feel right the second you hear them. Bringing passenger rail service back to Winnipeg Beach is one of them. I had a great chat with new Prairie Dog Central Railway CEO Jeffrey Bannon this week, and you can hear the excitement in his voice. He hasn’t been at the job very long, but he’s already chasing a dream that Manitoba history buffs, cottagers and beach lovers have talked about for years…reviving the old Moonlight Special train trips. And honestly? I’m fired up about it too. Back in the glory days, Winnipeg Beach was known as the “Coney Island of the West.” Trains hauled thousands of Winnipeggers to the lake every weekend for dances and roller coaster rides. Prairie Dog Central, home to one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in Canada, wants to bring a piece of that magic back. Bannon says there are still hurdles ahead, especially finding passenger cars, but the vision is alive. Summer beach runs. Polar Express rides in winter. Haunted Halloween trains in the fall. A year-round attraction. You can count me in!

Please tune in for Hal’s Kitchen at noon today on 680 CJOB. I’ll feature this recipe, one of the 50 best as compiled by the New York Times. I’ll also talk to KD about its new Mac & Cheesecake and Danny Kleinsasser at Danny’s Whole Hog which is celebrating 25 years.

Mama Robin is back! She’s reusing her nest on one of the windows of our cottage. And since we were at the lake last weekend, baby birds have appeared. This is way better than anything on TV! She needs to clean the window though 😉

Kevin Ramberran wanted to add a truly Winnipeg challenge burger to the menu at St. James Burger, so of course he opted for the Fat Boy. And because it needs to be challenging to eat, he decided to swing for the fences, creating the World’s Largest Fat Boy. The patty alone is a whopping seven pounds. And it’s one massive patty, not a bunch of smaller ones stacked on an oversized bun. The patty is loaded with all the traditional Fat Boy including two pounds of chili. Several people have already signed up to give it a go. The first attempt is set for Tuesday at high noon. Eat it in less than half an hour and it’s free. Fail to do it and you’ll be forking over $179.99. But you can’t just show up to do it. You need to go to StJamesBurger.com to sign up because Kevin has to shut down regular service so he can cook that one monster of a patty.

The countdown is officially on for this year’s A Taste Of Manitoba food festival. The Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association has unveiled the 20 restaurants that'll take part September 3rd to 7th at historic Fort Gibraltar. And if last year is any indication, people are going to show up hungry. After a wildly successful return in 2025 that drew 12,000 people, organizers say this year’s event will be "bigger and better," with expanded entertainment, more interactive events and a stronger focus on our food and culture. The MRFA also announced a new long-term agreement with Festival du Voyageur that'll keep Taste at the Fort for at least the next three years...welcome news for fans who loved the venue’s cozy, rustic atmosphere last year. The fest lands right in the middle of Burger Week, so expect burgers to be front and centre, alongside the usual mix of local favourites, new restaurant additions and catering companies showcasing Manitoba-made food. Admission remains free, with guests only paying for food and drinks. Presale ticket packages go on sale July 1st at TasteOfMb.com and run through August 15th. You'll get 10 free tickets for every 40 purchased during the presale period as a way to help families stretch their entertainment dollars a little further. And yes, the drinks are back too, with local brewery partnerships and Manitoba-made beverages once again pouring throughout the festival grounds. THIS YEAR'S RESTAURANTS -Moxie's -Shelly's Indigenous Bistro -Jeepney -Spice Bros -Cornerstone Cafe and Deli -Carlos & Murphy's -Cibo -Dave & LaVerne’s Modern Diner -James Avenue Pump House -Junction 59 -Tavern United -Bull & Filly -Silver Heights -Fionn MacCool's Grant Park -East of Eden Wellness -Saddlery -Perfect Pierogies -Peasant Cookery -529 Wellington -Dougie’s from Prairie Edge